2x03 What Is Lost

So now we have massive changes from the source material.

Although well written otherwise, I am not a fan. There are few examples where the complcations resulting out of strong deviations were for the positive. Most of the times the solutions for getting back on track are absurd.

I get that they needed additional material for Yennefer, since she is needed more in later seasons and contracts with a lot of hours in the first year, few in the second and a lot in later years don't really work well (although Anya Chalotra is fairly unknown, so she probably could have been persuaded) - but why not prepare for what you already know comes later on?

Great job showing Cirillas training in Morhen though. They actually kept the part where she fails and gets up again - showing that she is actually a strong character (a very fast learner, but not a Mary Sue who can just do stuff without training).

Freya Allan is actually doing a good job portraying Ciri and I hope she does more roles like this after Witcher ends (seeing how she is 20, she certainly has quite a few good years left).

Generally it is interesting how whenever Cavill is in a shot all the characters are way closer to the source material.

The main good thing about this episode is that it was better than the previous one. Of course, the best part(s) were those in Kaer Morhen; specifically, Cirilla's desire to train and grow stronger: the stubbornness that comes along with it. I liked how Lambert looked down on her initially; then began respecting her upon her refusal to give up, her continual stubbornness. It was nice how swift Cirilla earned Lambert's respect and regard; not just him, but seemingly all the other Witchers, too.

I feel like this episode was the slowest one so far. We got to see Cirilla training more extensively than following a few simple movements of Geralt at the end of the previous episode. We saw a little bit of the elves settling in Cintra/Xintrea, which seems to be occupied by Nilfgaard; perhaps it's their primary headquarters at the moment.

Most of all, there was a lot of focus over at Aretuza. Lots of politics-type stuff, not just there, and just a lot of slow-paced, slow-building storytelling. I'm not sure if most of all that will be important later on. But it did put a damper on the episode. Due to the writing? I'm not qualified in knowing that, let alone just a tiny bit. Maybe it's because: even if written well, I don't have an interest in stuff like that.

But there was something important to glean from all of that:

• The name-drop by King Vizimir of Redania to King Foltest of Temeria nearing the end of the episode: his adviser, Dijkstra. Graham McTavish will be the actor. I haven't read the novels or played the games, let alone seen much of the games. But I know Dijkstra is an important character. I don't think I know any specifics regarding him: ones that I remember, anyway. I'm 90% sure King Vizimir is a puppet ruler, and Dijkstra is the true one to look out for, only the King is unaware of it: maybe. Hell, it might go further than that: someone even more of the ruler to who Dijkstra reports.

Here are my other thoughts:

• The cinematography in this episode was exceptional. There was a lot more variety regarding the scenery, and that allowed for it to shine even more. By far, the nicest it has looked in these first three episodes. The best shot was at the start of the scene when Eskel's body is left to the wolves: for them to devour; that initial shot of the mountains and the water, and the imagery depicted something that I haven't figured out yet. Was it a wolf? That shot looked nice.

• Speaking of variety, this episode expanded the world a little bit more; the different locations: the nice-looking aerial view of Cintra, the obstacle course in Kaer Morhen, where Eskel's body was left, where Cirilla ran to from the woods, and the memorial area at the end of the episode; and set pieces (?): the different exterior of Aretuza and interiors, and a same (?) interior of Cintra that perhaps looked better.

• cont.) And all of that made this episode feel completely different compared to the first two, making me think this season is going to get more elaborate in the following episodes. All of them were good, too. And they were even better, thanks to the good cinematography.

• The new Nilfgaardian armor looks so much better than the monstrosity armor they wore in the first season. At first, I thought it was Elven armor, and the men wearing it were elves. The massive improvement of their armor is now another improvement in this season. On top of other improvements compared to the first season.

• Geralt's new outfit is fantastic. Henry Cavill is looking mighty dapper. I hope it's comfortable for him to wear and move around. I'd like for it to be a frequent outfit to see Geralt wear, but I think it's more of an outfit for battle. There would probably have to be a lot of constant action going on for him to wear it for long periods. I hope times like that are frequent in the novels, and I think I'm speaking for everyone when I say that Geralt's outfit should be that one for as long as possible.

• Talk about anticlimactic. The leshy's done, just like that? Geralt didn't even kill it; that monster did. I'm pretty sure it was as if there was going to be this huge battle between Geralt and it in the trailer, although I didn't watch the trailer. I thought the only way to kill one is with fire through the heart, so maybe it's still alive, or that wasn't its actual body.

• cont.) Or slicing it in half could work, too. But maybe that can only be done by other monsters, and fire through the heart is the "only way" for a non-monster to kill one. And I don't know what that monster was, nor was it revealed to us. I doubt it was created for the show, so people who've played the games or read the novels probably immediately recognized it.

• cont.) It seemed to beckon to Cirilla before Geralt appeared, killing it. I wonder if she's some sort of beacon to monsters. Perhaps there's some higher being that causes monsters to seek her out against their will and then lead her somewhere. But that's probably a stretch. I was also going to suggest that maybe the leshy somehow mutated because she was close by, that Eskel getting infected was because of her, but that wouldn't make sense.

• Surprisingly, given that I haven't read the novels, I was glad that Cahir's character is still in play, thanks to Yennefer saving him. I know that he's much different in the novels, so it almost seemed likely that the writers would've off-ed him because of the route they went with him; off-ed him, someone important in the novels, like they did Eskel. Thankfully, he's still alive, for now.

• cont.) Even more surprisingly, he seemed likable to me in this episode. That's pretty much why I was glad Yennefer saved him. I hope that by him being likable and the writers writing Yennefer to save him; means he'll become more in line with his counterpart in the novels. I just have this feeling that he was super likable, better written, and an all-around better character than in the show so far, even though I haven't read the novels.

Yeah, this episode was the slowest-paced episode so far. The plot progression was pretty much stagnant on all fronts. It was almost like a filler episode, but I doubt it was an actual one. Despite that, I thought it was better than the previous episode, but I can see why some people may consider the previous one to be better.

I feel like the scope of the show/this season is about to become much broader, so I think this episode, in terms of the slow pacing and somewhat stagnant plot progression, was a one-time thing. I believe the following episodes will likely begin picking up the pace and becoming more exciting. And even if slow pacing and sometimes stagnant plot progression continue to be present, I think the level of excitement will at least be higher.